Elk Makes Prototype Board for Building Blockchain-Connected Devices

The team initially tried to build open-source hardware for IoT, now it is launching it on the blockchain instead.

The firm plans to launch a tiny board that can connect to a blockchain. The equipment will also control electronic components like motors, sensors, and switches. This technology will make it possible for users to build an embedded blockchain system in a few minutes. Elk uses the Koyn Arduino library which makes it easier to connect and program blockchain-connected devices.

More features of the board

The board makes use of two processors, storage and a WiFi module. The board supports Ethereum and Bitcoin, it also uses Whisper and Swarm for decentralized messaging and storage. The team plans to add support for other blockchains in the future. Elk founders Amr Saleh and Islam Mustafa also created the 1Sheeld, a board that makes it possible for users to control IoT devices using their phone.

According to Saleh, the company believes that current blockchain development is below expectations. Thus, affecting blockchain development for embedded devices. He added that there’s capacity to make a 10x improvement to the UX and that is the company’saim.

“We are delivering the Arduino-like experience to blockchain development. It with include libraries that Arduino already supports”, he added.

How it started

Founders Amr Saleh and Islam Mustafa built the board at a hackathon and were impressed by the concept. Thus, they wanted to turn it into an actual product.

Saleh, speaking at the ETHDenver 2018 Hackathon said, “we built a prototype of a development board. The board offers the simplicity of Arduino for building blockchain-connected devices. We ended up winning first place, and the Elk project was born.”